


Cooking Lessons

by Thistlewhistle



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: But there's a bit of swearing, Gen, Would be all ages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 00:06:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19800607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thistlewhistle/pseuds/Thistlewhistle
Summary: During a fleeting quiet moment in the Crystarium the Warrior of Darkness takes a moment to teach the new Minfilia to cook for herself. After all, it's not like Thancred's going to do it.





	Cooking Lessons

It didn't take long for the raen halfbreed to spot her quarry. The girl rarely strayed far from Thancred, especially not after the scolding she had gotten back in Il Mheg. A shameful display of bullshit that Azami had wasted no time in calling him out for.

Like it was the kid's fault that she had gotten captured.

She had just wandered off on her own. The kid hadn't meant any harm by it. There were times when the pull was impossible to resist. Azami had gone through something similar when she had been around the kid's age. Waking up in the middle of the night with the urge to go. Go where? The feeling was never specific enough for her to tell. It seemed like the kid had a leg up on her. She, at least, had been granted a destination of sorts. If a person could be considered a destination.

Perhaps it was just the sort of thing he wouldn't ever understand. That was what she was here for.

She raised one grocery-bag-laden hand in greeting as she approached the duo. Thancred quirked an eyebrow, but didn't make any smug remarks for once. Which was just as well. Azami wouldn't want to bruise any of her produce by smacking him upside the head with it, no matter how richly he deserved it.

"I'm borrowing the kid." she informed him. It wasn't a request. The kid glanced up at him with a questioning look. Was she looking for permission or instruction? She could be a little hard to read sometimes. Thancred sighed and shook his head.

"Do what you like."

The girl perked up, as excited as she was anxious about this new development. The last time Azami had led her off on her own they had gotten into a fight with some sineaters. Not that they hadn't been able to handle it. If she were being honest, Azami would have done better without the kid's fumbling, but as the latest in a line of chosen ones the kid needed all of the combat experience she could get. Azami would simply have to help the kid train at some point. Perhaps a friendly sparring match?

No, she would feel too guilty if she ended up popping the kid a little too hard. She would definitely need to show the kid how to throw a proper punch at some point. Knives were all well and good, but where would she be if she was disarmed? Couldn't be disarmed if her arms were her arms. Well, she could. They only needed to look to the Flame General for evidence of that.

Maybe she could pair the kid up against the nerd? He didn't look like he could punch very hard. That would be a much more fair match up. And she could show that nerd how to defend himself properly as well. Two birds.

"Um..." the girl's quiet voice interrupted Azami's thoughts. Azami grunted an acknowledgement that she had heard the child. The kid took a long moment to consider her words before speaking up. It was an annoying habit of hers. "I can carry some of those... if you want."

"You don't have to, Kid."

"No... I... I want to!"

Azami paused and looked the kid over. She seemed to be trying to stand up for herself. It was a big step for the timid girl. Something like that should be rewarded. She flashed the kid a gentle smile and handed her a couple of the lighter bags. "If you insist."

"Where are we going?" the kid had decided to chance more conversation. Good. This was good progress.

"My room."

"Oh..."

Azami could feel the question the kid wanted to ask, but hadn't yet worked up the courage to put words to. She decided to put the kid out of her misery, rather than let her stew. It only seemed kind.

"I'm going to teach you to make some simple meals. Ones you can cook on the road." she explained, "That idiot Thancred was always too busy womanizing to have learned to make any proper meals."

It was an unkind guess, but Azami wasn't here to be kind. The kid was way too skinny. It the kid's self-appointed guardian was too busy chasing after everything in a skirt to feed the girl properly, then it fell to her to take care of the child. Since Azami wouldn't be around forever, she needed to ensure the child had a way to feed herself. It was simple arithmetic.

"What's... sorry." The girl dropped her gaze. Azami snorted. Had she accidentally taught the kid a new word? That could be trouble.

"Womanizing? It's when you go around courting a bunch of different women. Men like that are no good." she explained, an amused smirk playing on her lips. Not that she had much room to talk on that front. Nights at taverns devolved into picking a partner and informing them that they would do for the night more often than not these days. A girl had needs.

The kid made a soft noise, as if she wanted to pretend she understood. Azami transferred her remaining bags to one hand so she could gently pat the kid on the head. In her kindest voice she said the words she had hated the most when she was a child, "You'll understand when you get a bit older."

The rest of the walk to her assigned room passed in uneasy silence. Azami had never been one for small talk, and the kid seemed to have worn through her courage with her previous batch of questions. Well, the silence suited her just fine. Gave her time to think about what she really wanted to teach the kid.

Obviously, the girl was going to need to learn to wash and cook rice. A meal without rice was hardly a meal at all. Perhaps they could go with a simple dish first? A vegetable stirfry would be simple enough, and once she understood the basic technique of the thing she would be able to make one with whatever she had foraged up on the road.

Oh, Azami was going to have to teach her about which plants were safe to eat, wasn't she? Mushrooms especially. They were a pretty good source of protien in a pinch, but the kid foraging for them without knowing which ones were safe and which were poison would turn into a disaster. Were the mushrooms on the First the same as the ones that grew on the Source? The trees here were pretty different from the ones back home, so it would only make sense that the mushrooms would be different as well.

Azami was going to have to learn what plants in the First were safe to eat in order to teach the kid anything. Perhaps she could pick up a book on botany at some point? That weird librarian would probably know where she could find one.

Well, edible plants didn't have any bearing on knife-technique. She could at least show the kid that much in today's lesson. But first things first.

"Wash your hands." Azami instructed. The kid gave a small hop of surprise before rushing off to do as instructed. Azami frowned. She really was a skittish one, wasn't she? As much as she wanted to, she wasn't certain there was a way for her to help the kid with that. Thancred certainly wouldn't.

Perhaps she would get more confident as their journey went on? If she could help facilitate small wins for the kid... But how to do it without making it seem obvious? The twins might have ideas that could help her, but they had wandered off to look for lightwardens. Urianger was always an option, but... It would probably be faster to think of a way herself than to translate whatever he said into common.

Once the girl returned with clean hands, the lesson could begin.

"So, I'm going to show you how to wash rice first." she explained, measuring out how much she was planning to cook. She could show the kid how to make onigiri as well. A staple of her adventuring diet. Onigiri filled with freshly caught fish. It was the one consistent bright spot in her days on the road. Especially when the twerp was having one of his whiny days. Not that he seemed to be having many of those lately. He really had grown up, hadn't he?

"So, the trick is to be gentle enough not to break any of the grains, and do it quickly enough that the rice won't absorb too much of the waste water." she explained the technique as she showed the kid. Carefully she drained away the waste water and poured in more wash water. "You give it a try. We want to keep washing the rice until the water runs clear."

The kid did as instructed. Her hands were clumsy and uncertain, but Azami nodded encouragingly anyway. Once the rice had been thoroughly washed, she taught the kid to measure the water. They set the water to boil as Azami turned their attention to the vegetables.

  
Azami started with one of the peppers she had picked up. It was a large mild one. She wasn't sure how high the kid's tolerance for spicy foods were, so it had seemed like an acceptable compromise. Slowly, she showed the kid how to cut out the seeds and ribs before cutting what was left of the flesh into thin strips. After a few example cuts, she stepped aside so the child could give it a try herself.

"So, you're going to want to start carrying at least one kitchen knife on you when you're out on the road." she explained handing her travel knife to the child hilt first, "Make sure it's a sharp one. There's nothing more dangerous in a kitchen than a dull knife."

The kid nodded, focusing on her task with an intensity that Azami couldn't help but be impressed by. If she applied that focus to her combat training, then the kid would be a fine warrior in no time at all. But she did seem to be a bookish sort as well. Perhaps having one of the twins teach her some of their magic would be best? It couldn't hurt. She would ask the next time she saw one of them.

"Now, depending on what kind of pepper you have, you're going to want to wash your hands after doing this, especially before touching your face. They have something in their oil and seeds that will burn if it gets into your eyes. It's the same thing that makes them taste spicy." she explained, motioning towards the sink again. Azami paused to tend to the rice as the kid set to work washing her hands again.

"These ones are pretty mild though, so you should be safe. Still, it's a good habit to get into."

"Where did you learn to cook?" the kid asked, marshaling her courage. Azami set to peeling away the papery outer layer of an onion as she considered the question. A lot of that wasn't something she wanted to discuss with any of the scions, much less this child. Still, a sanitized version couldn't hurt.

"My mother taught me a little when I was young. The rest I picked up on the road." She explained before moving to the sink herself. She showed the kid one of her most closely guarded techniques, "If you take cool water, like this and pour it over the onion and knife it won't sting your eyes as badly when you cut it."

"What kind of person is your mother?" the kid asked, not half as impressed by Azami's secret technique as she should have been.

Azami sighed, her gaze finding some far away point to fixate on for a moment. This was why she hadn't wanted to bring it up. What was she supposed to tell the kid? The truth? That was far too heavy a burden to foist upon this already overburdened child.

"Was, kid." Azami managed after a long moment, "She... passed away some months ago."

"Oh. I'm so sorry! I... I didn't mean to... I'm sorry" the kid rambled. She wore such a pitiful lost expression. It pissed Azami off.

What? Was she worried about having offended her? Little idiot. She shouldn't have to worry about stuff like that. Azami was the adult. She could manage her own emotions without the kid having to walk around on eggshells.

Azami raised her hand and delivered a firm but gentle chop to the top of the kid's head. Despite the attack being little more than a gentle tap, the kid flinched as if Azami had struck her full force. Something about that infuriated Azami. Who had done this to that sweet child? Was it Thancred? Was Azami going to have to pound Thancred into the dirt? She would. That dipshit general who kept hounding them as well.

Anyone stupid enough to make this child cry was going to have to answer to a very pissed off Warrior of Whatever-the-Fuck.

"Stop that." she commanded, "You didn't know."

"Even so..." the girl trailed off, her unsettling eyes finding a place on the floor to stare at.

"Let's just focus on the task at hand." Azami guided the child back to cutting vegetables. Things devolved into silence once more, but this one felt awkward somehow. Not something that would ordinarily phase her, but something about this silence was profoundly uncomfortable.

"She was kind." Azami said, if only to break the unpleasant silence, "She never blamed me for what I was. My father either. Always treated me kindly, even if I wasn't his."

The kid paused her work and gave Azami a questioning stare. It was written clearly all over her face, the kid had questions. Questions that Azami did not want to be the one to have to answer.

"Ask Thancred when we're done here." she smirked. That would be a very entertaining thing to watch. Would that she could be present to observe.

"I never knew my parents." the kid admitted, turning her attention back to the vegetables, "I guess I was taken when I was very young. I wonder if they're still..."

"Do you want to look for them?"

"I... I don't know."

"Well, that's not something you need to decide right now. But if you ever need help searching... you can..." Azami floundered for words as she abruptly reached her tenderness quota for the year. She turned away from the child, her cheeks warm as she tried to muscle through, "You know... ask us. Or whatever."

If she didn't know any better, she would have said that she heard the kid giggle behind her.  
Whatever discomfort had come between them seemed to have dissipated. They settled into an easy silence, broken only by occasional instructions from Azami. Slowly but surely, the kid had worked her way through the preparation, and set to work heating and oiling the pan. Azami had taken the rice off the heat, and set some aside to make onigiri with.

Along with the onigiri and stirfry, Azami had picked up ingredients for a simple soup. It was a light soup. More of a broth, really. One that would go well with just about any meal. A simple salad wouldn't have gone amiss either, Azami mused.

  
Perhaps one that was more atypical? She had found a recipe for a cucumber pear salad that she quite enjoyed. It was quick to make and would only get better the longer it was kept in the vinegar mixture she used for dressing.

She hadn't even considered dessert either! It wasn't usually Azami's thing, but the kid seemed like the type to have a sweet tooth. It wasn't like they could bake a cake on short notice like that, although that would definitely go on a future lesson plan. Azami wasn't the best at baking, but she knew enough to make simple desserts.

She did have eggs. Perhaps meringue cookies wouldn't go amiss? She liked the weird texture that the cookies had quite a bit, and they were relatively simple to make. Learning to separate eggs would be a useful skill as well. Azami nodded to herself and set to preheat the oven.  
Perhaps she could teach the kid to make omelettes as well.

Another time. With any luck they would have plenty of opportunities for lessons such as these, and it seemed to her that the kid would need them. The two took a moment to survey the feast that they had inadvertently prepared. Perhaps Azami had let herself get a little carried away.

  
The kid's work was acceptable, for a first attempt. The onigiri were clumsy at best and nothing was uniform, the plating was sloppy, and Azami was pretty sure that the sauce had been added into the pan too late to coat everything evenly. But those were all things that would improve with practice. Nothing had been burned, and that was the important thing.

"You know... I thought you were pretty scary before." the kid mumbled. She smiled up at Azami, "But you're actually really nice, aren't you?"

Azami fixed the child with an unimpressed frown. Her? Nice? How dare that brat accuse her of such a thing?

"Don't go spreading that around, Kid." she scolded the child, "I've got a fucking reputation to protect."

The kid's mouth dropped open as she let out a scandalized gasp, pink coloring her cheeks. Azami snorted with laughter. Was that all it took to shock this kid? She could have a lot of fun with her. But the kid wasn't here for her amusement. That was Alphinaud's job. Still, a little teasing every now and again wouldn't hurt.

"We made a little more than we really needed. Maybe we should invite that jackass over as well." she suggested. The kid took a moment to think on it. Whether she was trying to remember who the jackass in question was or just considering whether she wanted him here was anyone's guess.

"You're angry with Thancred, aren't you?" the kid asked finally.

"A-yup."

"Why?"

"He knows what he did."

What he was still doing, really. Once the kid was in bed, she and that shitty rogue were going to have to have words. This child deserved better than the way he was treating her, and they both knew it. If she had to pry Thancred's head out of his ass with her own two hands, then so be it. What else were friends for?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for sitting through this self-indulgent nonsense on my side. Azami isn't typically the Warrior of Light/Darkness, so I guess this is something of an AU for her. If you're interested in seeing more Azami you can find her on Tumblr @fistofdoma


End file.
